The Gamer's Quarter

Ketch · . Joined: 17 Sep 2005 Posts: 420

What RPGs would you recommend the most for GBA? And why? also which GBA- RPGs have you played to compare it to?

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Then a bit lower in fun is Riviera. M&L:SS is absolutly fantastic, and I would not really consider myself a RPG fan.

dessgeega · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:38 am Post subject:

dragon quest 1 and 2 for the gameboy color?

just for the first, really.
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player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

dessgeega · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 10:44 am Post subject:

ajutla · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 11:14 am Post subject:

Golden Sun.

NO, I'M JOKING. THAT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST INSINCERE THING I'VE SAID IN MY LIFE.
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dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

Does Phantasy Star Collection remain compelling without a couch?

There are a whole lot of miserable GBA RPGs, come to think of it.

SuperWes · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2005 1:42 pm Post subject:

xvs07 · . Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Posts: 160

I feel it's worth mentioning that Final Fantasy Adventure and Crystalis both look nice on a GBA, provided that you can find copies.

simplicio · . Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091

Well, if you're delving into the tactical side of things the Fire Emblems are easily the best offering. Other than that Mario and Riviera are about the only things going. The Golden Suns are awful, the Phantasy Star Collection's only good for nostalgia purposes, Lufia and Lunar are both weak, Breath of Fire's less good than you remember from its SNES days, and all the potential Sword of Mana had is completely ruined by awful writing and that damned cactus. You're better off with a copy of Final Fantasy Adventure.

But why is it that we call Sword of Mana a RPG while Zelda's an Adventure? Both the Zeldas were pretty decent, plus you've got the back catalog of GB and GBC titles.

Is Harvest Moon a RPG? Mario Golf? The lines are a little fuzzy I think, but both of those are good titles.

dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

Zelda's an adventure game because you the player learn how to utilize your abilities, tools, and environment to progress through the game. Mana games are RPGs because your in-game character does all the actual learning and you just direct him. You're playing his role.

To elaborate, in The Legend of Zelda, you the learn how to use the sword more effectively as you play, in order to defeat increasingly difficult groups of enemies. In Secret of Mana, you hit things with your sword over and over until your sword skill "levels up" and becomes more powerful. Presumably, your character has gotten better at hitting things with a sword; you the player have not. The ability's been "terraced out" as someone on IC once put it.

Mr. Mechanical · Friendly Stranger Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 1276

Swimmy · . Joined: 16 Sep 2005 Posts: 990 Location: Fairfax, VA

Phantasy Star Collection is not getting its worthy derision. Time for me to step in!

1) About 1 in 10 saves in Phantasy Star 1 will glitch out and you'll have to restart from your last save. This means that you have to save every five freaking steps, just to be sure you don't lose anything. I played the whole thing, just because it's a damn good game, but if you're not as fanboyish as I am it would be unplayable. (It's also a pretty inexcusable glitch. How did a playtester not fucking notice that?)

2) Phantasy Star II feels cramped. The game's claustrophobic enough. And its nature doesn't lend it to an easy handheld transfer, I don't think. All the backtracking...

Also, I hear the sound is inaccurate. I don't know because this is the only way I've played it. I've also never finished it because I'd like a better way to play it. Phantasy Star Trilogy is slated for Q4 on all the game sites, but no date, damn it!

3) Phantasy Star III? I guess there's something to see, there. It's novel. It also hasn't held up well. It also was never very good to begin with, though that was partially excusable due to the license and the big payoff scene in Phantasy Star IV, where all the games come together and everything's awesome.

4) Phantasy Star IV is better than Phantasy Star III. Duh.

5) Phantasy Star Trilogy is supposed to come out in the states fairly soon, right? Am I completely wrong? I mean, wtf, get that.

6) Phuck Phantasy Star Collection. It's not even a half-assed port. It's less than half-assed. It's, like, third-assed. Stupid phucking save glitch.

Now!

I'm a big fan of FFTA. Also, Riviera is so slick it almost hurts. Also, does Castlevania count?

Some people seem to like the FF remakes. I refuse to play them. You know.

Finally, Breath of Fire II has one of the most compelling game introductions ever. And the Playstation Breath of Fire games are really good. Has anybody noticed this? They're, like, really, really good.

Yeah!

Mister Toups · Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:37 pm Post subject:

Yeah, but the SNES ones mostly suck.

You are right about part 2's intro. But the actual game itself...

Yuck.
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player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

A tangent about about Golden Sun:

I'm really bothered that no one has taken this approach to console jRPG battles. I wouldn't mind seeing battles like that in high resolution Imagine FFIV played out like this with Amano style cell animation. Oh god. Sex.
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

Mister Toups · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 12:56 am Post subject:

I think one or two of the Shining Force games had some kind of setup like that.
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player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

Not nearly as well done.

Actually, though, you're right. The first time I wished videogames had cell animation layered on top of each other was when I played Shining Force. And then when I started watching anime and noticed how formulaic the battles were. Hell, they even called out attacks. Golden Sun just confirmed it all.
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

dessgeega · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:42 am Post subject:

it's too bad the rest of the game is so terrible.
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player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

Cinematic flair is damn important. Haven't you played Resident Evil 4?

Actually, in terms of RPGs, the SNES FFs are very good at showing why drama is important. IV is, as far as I know, the best early example of Joe Campbell heroic fantasy in videogames. V is dramatic without any plot whatsoever. And then VI is just overt in its theatricality. And theatricality helps emphasize the 3rd person engagement these games give, as opposed to the 1st person engagement in the DQ games.
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

dessgeega · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 6:58 am Post subject:

and yet i'd much rather be playing a dragon quest game than a final fantasy. hmm.
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player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

DonMarco · . Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 349 Location: 33903

Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance

It's like $8 used anywhere and well worth it.
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dessgeega · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 8:32 am Post subject:

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

player 2 · . Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 585 Location: Madison, WI USA

Des - I totally meant no harm.

Also Shaper - The reason why this theatricality (dramatic camera angels ala GS's battles being only a part of it) is important is because it helps detach the user from the game.

DQ games are very much about the self. They're about self exploration. Character interactions were for the purpose of the individual. Out of all the jRPGs, the DQ heroes have always had the least character. They were the most blank slate, I suppose.

FF games were always about the game itself. The world exists as a playground for your characters. It's their story and their adventure that's really important. And I think that there's something about this that benefits from cinematic battles.
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

SuperWes · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 8:50 am Post subject:

Golden Sun is an incredible engine with a game of questionable design contained within it. It's probably the best looking thing to ever hit the GBA but the game is designed in such a way that unless you have a strategy guide (which you probably won't have since it's a portable game), you're probably not going to enjoy yourself very much.

Your character on the overworld can use items he collects to solve puzzles, but areas where puzzles exist contain random battles. Because of this, you often end up getting somewhere where you don't have the item to solve a puzzle that you may not even realize is a puzzle, and you end up wandering around the area trying to figure out what to do while being forced to fight random battles every few steps that cause you to forget what you were there for in the first place.

The game is also somewhat non-linear, which really, really hurts the aforementioned design issue.

Luckily, Mario Golf more than redeems the Golden Sun Engine. Play Mario Golf for the GBA along with the Gamecube version to inexplicably become fully immersed in Golf for weeks.

-Wes
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simplicio · . Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091

You neglected to mention that it also features terrible writing all the way through, coupled with "player interaction" of yes or no questions that make absolutely no difference in the conversation. Seriously. One of the most insipid RPGs I've ever played.

Lackey · . Joined: 11 Jul 2005 Posts: 1107 Location: Canada

ajutla · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:45 am Post subject:

Actually, I stopped playing Golden Sun because the OMG CAMERA ANGLES made me feel nauseated - I mean, they were causing actual, physical illness.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279